Julia Ostro's Pork & Cabbage Gyoza

Ingredients

• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1⁄2 wombok (about 300 g), finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced, plus extra to serve
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 3 cm piece of ginger, finely grated
• handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 500 g pork mince, not too lean
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 35-40 gyoza wrappers
• Light flavour intensity Cobram Extra Virgin Olive oil, for frying
• sea salt and white pepper
• shichimi togarashi, to serve
• Dipping sauce: 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

Method

1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in boiling water with a pinch of sugar for 30 mintues or until softened. Drain and squeeze any excess water. Finely chop and set aside.
2. Toss the cabbage in a bowl with the salt and set aside to drain for 15 minutes. Squeeze the salted cabbage to remove any excess liquid.
3. Combine the spring onion, garlic, ginger, coriander, pork, sugar, soy sauce, cabbage and soaked shiitake mushrooms in a bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon or with your hands.
4. Line a baking tray with baking paper and fill a small bowl with water. Now you’re ready to assemble.
5. Hold a gyoza wrapper in one hand and place about a tablespoon of the pork mixture in the centre. Dip a finger in the bowl of water and use it to dampen all around the edge of the gyoza wrapper. Fold the wrapper to lightly envelope the mixture, as if you were holding a taco. Using both hands, pinch the gyoza edges together and make a small crimp.
6. Make small pleats, from the middle out, until completely sealed. Place the dumpling on the lined tray and repeat with remaining gyoza wrappers and pork mixture.
7. For the dipping sauce, combine the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
8. Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the gyoza in a single layer, fairly tightly packed and flat-side down. You will need to do this in batches or multiple frying pans. Cook for about 3 minutes until the bottoms of the gyoza are crispy and golden. Add 200 ml of water to the pan and cover with a lid (be careful when adding the water as it will bubble and spit as soon as it hits the hot oil). Steam the gyoza for about 7 minutes, or until the liquid has completely evaporated and the dumplings are cooked through.
9. Serve with a scattering of extra spring onion and shichimi togarashi and the dipping sauce alongside.